The present invention relates to a surgical drape that includes a liquid-absorbent top sheet and a liquid-impervious sheet placed immediately beneath the top sheet, said liquid-impervious sheet being turned to face towards a patient when the surgical drape is used.
Applicant retails a surgical drape designated Klinidrape(copyright) which is comprised of a three-sheet laminate, i.e. a liquid-impervious nonwoven top sheet, a liquid-impervious intermediate sheet comprised of polyethylene, and a bottom absorbent sheet comprised of cellulose wadding. The top sheet is intended to absorb blood and other fluids discharged or flowing from the surgical area, in order to prevent contamination of theatre personnel and the operating theatre itself. The plastic film forms a barrier against the transportation of fluid-carried bacteria between the patient and the surgical area and the undersurface of the sheet of cellulose wadding is intended to enhance patient comfort, by absorbing perspiration and preventing direct contact of the patient""s skin with the plastic sheet.
When a surgical drape is placed over a patient, much of the drape will slope relatively steeply away from the horizontal. Blood or liquid that flows from the surgical area and lands on these vertically sloping parts of the drape will endeavour to run down along the drape gravitationally, wherewith the spread pattern of fluid absorbed on such parts will have a substantially vertical extension. This constitutes a problem, since it is desirable for fluid flowing from the surgical wound or area to be absorbed in those parts of the drape that lie nearest the surgical area and therewith reduce the risk of personnel or instruments coming unintentionally into contact with blood that has been absorbed by the liquid-absorbent top sheet. One way of solving this problem is to provide liquid barriers in the form of upstanding pleats or folds in the drape material; see U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,997. According to WO-A1-95/10242, the problem is solved by placing threads or similar elements between the top sheet and the liquid-impervious sheet
One drawback with these solutions is that they make manufacture of the surgical drape more difficult and more expensive. There is thus a need for a liquid barrier element that can be included in a surgical drape in a manner which will not make the drape manufacturing process more difficult to carry out or disturb said process.
An object of the present invention is to satisfy this need.
This object is achieved in accordance with the invention with a surgical drape of the kind described in the introduction that is characterised by at least one string or bead of hotmelt glue disposed on one surface of the surgical drape, and in that the hotmelt glue extends from the upper side of the top sheet and through said top sheet and is fastened to the liquid-impervious sheet Such strings can be produced very simply, by placing the string in a molten phase on the surface of the drape and thereafter pressing the string through the top sheet into abutment with the liquid-impervious sheet with the aid of a roller or like pressure means.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, each string of hotmelt glue extends in a direction generally parallel with one edge of the drape and has a generally rectilinear extension. In one variant, at least one string of hotmelt glue is disposed on each side of two mutually opposing edges of an opening formed in the drape, between respective edges of the opening and corresponding edges of the drape.
In another variant, the string or strings of hotmelt glue is/are curved.